


Home

by VampireVampyre



Category: Assassin's Creed
Genre: Adventure, Family, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-11-03
Updated: 2014-09-04
Packaged: 2017-12-31 09:24:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 16,518
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1030020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VampireVampyre/pseuds/VampireVampyre
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nadia Latino works for Abstergo Entertainment as a news reader but a sudden trip to Italy makes everything change. Suddenly she has a second set off memories and an identity she never knew existed. Now it is not a race up the ladder, but a race home.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Sister Company

Home Chapter 1: The Sister Company

“This is Just In, that’s all for now.”

As soon as the camera was turned off, Nadia’s sweet smile drained from her face and was replaced by her usual tired look. Being an anchor and a lead journalist meant her workload was not light and she felt like she had not slept in months. She was in charge of celebrity news which meant there was always a constant flow of it heading her way. Early nights were only a dream for her. Her office replaced her bedroom and most nights her clock read 2am before she finally finished up and left the office building for the night.

“Hey, you okay?” a voice asked her as she ran a hand from her previously perfect hair. It was Declan, her fellow host and friend. He had been there on her first day and they became friends almost immediately which helped both on and off camera. Many viewers speculated that they were in a relationship together but they weren’t. Declan had a girlfriend who was currently pregnant and who he wanted to marry. Nadia was alone but content with that – not that she had had that much time to think about that.

“What? Yeah, no I’m fine.” Nadia said with a weak smile as she smoothed her slightly creased blazer. “Just the workload getting me stressed as ever.”

“Tell me about it! I have to go to a film premier in LA which means I leave Millie for a week. Andrew knows she’s pregnant but he still sends me across the country!” he said and anyone could tell he was really annoyed about this.

“Hey easy, we all know Andrew is a dick. I’m sure she’ll understand that it’s not your fault. She has your family and hers to look after her too. She’ll be fine.” Nadia said, trying to stop him stressing too much. Andrew was their producer and their boss, he was a grade A jerk and liked everyone to know it. He was the kind of person you instantly want to punch in the face but unfortunately for Nadia she couldn’t otherwise it was bye-bye dream job.

“Ah Miss Latin, a word please.” The man in question said from just behind her.

Nadia spun to face him and really hoped he hadn’t heard that – he was always out looking to fire one of his employees.

The one thing that annoyed Nadia about the way he addressed her was the way he pronounced her last name. It was Latino but he deliberately called it Latin since he first met her and there was a typo on her profile sheet. He saw it annoyed her so he always did it, that’s why he always called her ‘Miss Latin’ rather than her first name like he did everyone else.

“See ya later Nadia.” Declan called as Andrew lead her away from the studio and out into the empty adjoining corridor.

“What’s up Andrew?” Nadia asked with polite friendliness as they walked along, breaking the uncomfortable silence that had formed.

“You’re needed, apparently you need to explain to some of the scientist from the sister company what we do here.” He said though he sounded like he wasn’t particularly interested but also didn’t like the situation. Nadia hadn’t met anyone from the sister company before but Andrew obviously hated them a little more than he did his own crew considering how he sounded like he didn’t want her to do this.

“The sister company? Don’t they deal with drugs and medicine and science? Why do they want me, why not speak to our science guy Dom?”

“They requested to see you.” Andrew said, already sounding bored of the conversation.

Nadia just ignored his tone, she had more questions she wanted to ask. In all of the time she had been at Abstergo Entertainment she had never once heard of the sister company visiting. Not once, so why now? 

“Why are they here?” “Because they have are doing an interview with Dom later about some ridiculous, pointless, money wasting experiment that they want to share with the world.” Nadia definitely thought Andrew hated them and she was getting more evidence by the minute. Usually he would call something, or someone, just one negative adjective but today he had gone the whole hog and called their project 3! It was some kind of personal record Nadia though she should note.

“Okay sorry for asking.” Nadia muttered and Andrew gave her a glare like he almost always did.

“You’re in the room straight ahead, I would stay and play twenty questions with you but I don’t have the time and I don’t really care about you. Try not to let your New York accent spoil the interview too much.” Andrew said, signing off with sarcasm and an insult as usual before he turned and walked back the way they came – which Nadia noticed was actually quite far away from where they started.

Nadia had a fairly strong accent since her mama and papa were first generation Italians and she had been brought up in Little Italy with them. Over the years though she had toned it down enough for people not familiar with the accent to be able to understand her while still retaining enough of her accent for her to feel like herself. 

Nadia paused outside the wooden door for a moment to practice her ‘I’m-totally-not-tired-or-over-worked’ smile that she usually reserved for the camera.

Once she thought she was ready she knocked on the door and entered when a friendly male voice told her she could come in.


	2. The Mad Man

_ Home Chapter 2 _

The Mad Man  


“Come in.” said an expectant and very calm voice from the other side of the door.

When she opened it, she saw a tableful of men in white lab coats looking at her, all with warm smiles or amused looks on their faces – as if her presence was part of a joke she had missed the beginning of. Except one.

No, the man two seats down from her on the left of the long, rectangular table looked the very opposite. Nadia could see a light sheen of sweat covering his face and even as she looked at him he refused to meet her gaze, his gaze shifting to look at a very dull painting hung on the wall. He was nervous of her but she had no idea why.

“Ah Miss Latino, it’s so nice to meet you,” said the calm voice from before though the owner stayed seated and made no move to shake her hand or give and physical greeting. “Please, have a seat. I am Warren Vidic, and these are some of my colleagues.”

Nadia smiled at them all before moving over to the only vacant seat.

As she did though, she could feel seven pairs of eyes all watching her. She looked around at them and her eyes came to rest at the calm figure at the head, the only speaker as of yet, who was watching her amused as he calmly clasped his hands together and leaned back in his chair. It unnerved her but she didn’t know why.

“Do you know much about what we do at Abstergo Pharmaceuticals, Miss Latino?” Warren asked her with his usual calmness, not moving from his previous position.

“A little,” she said, trying to make her accent as subtle as she spoke. “I know you create drugs, both household and medicinal.”

Her limited knowledge created a surge of whispers between the scientists as well as a few more amused smiles. Although she realised that that could be amusing, she was still bothered by how the scientists looked at her when she first entered the room.

She looked over at the flustered man again and this time he had seemed to become even more agitated for reasons still unknown to her. This bothered her a lot but she kept the thoughts to herself for her job’s sake. The last thing she needed was Andrew on her case.

Is there something they know that I don’t? Or do they just like making jokes about us in general? Maybe that’s why Andrew doesn’t like them...

“That is partly what we do, though it is by far the least exciting. No, Miss Latino-”

“Please, call me Nadia.” She said with a warm smile, trying to make herself less nervous by stopping formality.

“No, Nadia,” Warren said, slightly patronising with a small amused smile of his own. “our main focus now is researching memories and the inner most workings of the human mind.” There was a momentary pause before he continued. “Our most prided experiment is the Animus Project.”

“Animus Project?” Nadia vaguely recognised the name but she had no idea what it involved.

“Ah I’ll let James explain that.” Warren said, gesturing to the red-headed young scientist on Nadia’s left.

Just in front of flustered man who was now running a hand through his greying hair.

“The Animus project is one of our greatest project yet,” the man said with an excited tone as he pushed his thin wiry glasses further up his nose. “one we’re about to share with the world. You know what memories are right?”

“Well yeah, their events, people and experiences that you’ve remembered and your brain is able to recollect.” Nadia said, leaning forward slightly as the subject became interesting.

“Well, we’ve been able to find and extract memories from your ancestors. It’s not just your memories stored in your mind, your ancestral line is stored there too. All in your DNA. We created a machine that enables you to relive those locked up memories and experience your ancestors lives. We’ve had subjects relive memories from as far back as the Egyptian times as of yet.”

As James finished explaining, Nadia’s mind was alight with thoughts and images of what that would be like – to live the lives of those who came before you from so far back in time. She even imagined herself in so many ancient places and cultures and what it would be like to be able to experience it all as if it was real life.

“We’ve even developed this idea into a games console too so people all over the world can share in this fantastic experience.”

That’s where she’d heard it.

Dom, the science and technology reporter, had once come back from a business trip to Rome and had been all excited for the console which ‘could completely change the world of gaming forever’. Nadia had just thought he was being his usual over-excited and incredibly passionate self about his subject, but now she understood his excitement. This was a large step forward from everything else ever invented in the gaming world – or so she knew.

“That sounds so... amazing,” She said, sharing her intrigue and fascination with the idea. “I’m sure it will be a huge success.”

“Yes it would, but still it would be dwarfed in success if Project Gemini had gone as planned.” The flustered man piped up, much to everyone’s surprise.

Silence fell across the room as the man’s words were absorbed by the group of scientists. Now it was the others’ turn to look flustered.

Project Gemini? 

“I don’t understand, what is-” Nadia started to ask but was interrupted as the man now looked at her.

“Craig-” Warren started but the main, Craig, cut him off.

“You’re accent, Nadia, you’re Italian-American aren’t you?”

“Excuse me?” Nadia said, eyebrows raising towards her hairline. She had no idea why he would ask such a question now, right in the middle of all of the awkwardness. And a weird question too.

What does that have to do with anything?

“You’re Italian-American aren’t you? Parents first generation Italian?” he repeated, looking at her now with desperation – which freaked Nadia out even more. Along with the fact that he correctly guessed (or knew?) her parents were Italian.

“Uh yeah...” She said slowly and unsurely, still both curious and cautious about this and what it had to do with anything.

“Craig, enough. You are stressing this young woman with your ridiculous questions. Just calm down and-”

“No!” he roared at them, standing up from his chair and slamming his hands down on the table. As he looked back at her, his eyes developed a slightly mad edge which scared Nadia but she couldn’t look away as they held her gaze. “No!”

“I’m sorry Miss Latino,” the middle-aged man sitting to her left said, looking at her and taking her arm as he stood her up and lead her to the door. “Dr Ashford is having... problems at the moment. We thought he’d be okay but apparently not.”

They both looked at the hollering man who was now being restrained by two of his colleagues who were trying to calm him down. All the while Warren looked on with a mixture of anger and disapproval.

“No, it’s okay,” She said, swallowing down any fear she had and looking at the scientist with a smile. “It was nice talking to you anyway. I guess I should know more about the sister company.”

The man smiled at her as he opened the door.

“Don’t listen to them, the lies, don’t listen. Remember your brothers! Remember-”

That was all she got from Dr Craig Ashford before she was shoved out of the door and it closed in her face.

Remember my brothers?

That confused her. She didn’t have any brothers – or any siblings at all for that matter. Her mama and papa had tried for another after she was born but her


	3. Familiar Places and Unseen Faces

  
** Home Chapter 3 **   


_Chapter Three: Familiar Places and Unseen Faces_

“Why me?” Nadia groaned as she sat staring at the unopened email from the mystery sender. It had been a week since those emails had started and since then they hadn’t left her alone. She had been home at 10pm last night yet she was in at 5:30am.

‘A FORGOTTEN WORLD LIES WAITING TO BE SAVED.’

‘THE TRUTH IS THERE BUT YOU NEED TO CHOOSE TO SEE IT.’

‘BLINDNESS WILL ONLY LEAD TO THE UNKNOWING DEATH OF ALL THOSE YOU LOVE.’

Blah, blah, blah.

‘Do you not want to know who you truly are?’

That one had struck something in Nadia. She had stared at it for what seemed like hours trying to understand what they meant. She had never pretended to be anything she wasn’t so she didn’t understand that. Still she felt like she was missing the main point they were trying to make and this was really playing on her mind and affecting her sleep and work.

Now a plan ran through a head. What about trying to talk to them rather than them just spouting tonnes of riddles at her

‘I don’t understand.’

She was about to click send when a tap on her door made her jump and quickly hide the e-mail.

“Nadia?”

Declan’s head popped through the glass door and the look on his face made her immediately push those e-mails to the back of her mind for the moment. He looked pretty beaten up about something.

“You’re just in time for coffee.” she said casually, holding out the fresh cup of coffee she had been making for herself while continuing to look at her work. He took it and she heard him sit down in her nice leather chair she’d placed by the window incase she ever got time to take a break and look out there.

“Thanks.” he said gratefully, taking a long drink as Nadia pretended to get on with work while he took time to compose himself a little. She knew he would just get annoyed if she looked at him while he did, he didn’t really do emotional outbursts but when he did he’d prefer to keep them secret. Her pretending it was was just that was as close as he could get.

Half an hour passed with him sitting there, Nadia swore at some points she even heard him sniffle, and she managed to get some work done though she kept getting distracted by checking for a reply to her email.

Then she heard her mug smash on the floor and a pair of hands grabbed her shoulders and spun her in her seat.

She managed to hold in a scream of surprise as Declan's eyes looked into hers with a look of apparent worry and panic.

" _Claudia, I do not know what has happened but we need to leave. We must keep away from this place! What they do here seems to be sorcery and I do not like it_." He spoke in Italian with a Florentine accent though his words were quick and his firm grip on her shoulders never loosened.

_Okay, what has he been doing last night? Sorcery? And since when was he a Florentine? He told me his parents were from Bologna!_

"Declan let go, you're freakin' me out!" she said, shoving his hands away from her and moving away from him.

His head tilted slightly in apparent confusion though he came forward and gripped her wrists.

" _What has gotten into you? Why do you speak like that, I did not think your tutor taught you English._ "

“Okay, you’ve officially lost it!” Nadia said, though as she said it something brewed in her mind. She had heard that voice before; she knew she had yet she didn’t know where from. She shook her head as she shooed away those thoughts and backed away from the crazed man she thought she knew.

“ _Why do you look at me like that? I am your-_ ”

“ _No!_ ” Nadia said in her first language, cutting off whatever crazy things were about to pop out of his mouth. “ _Look I don’t know what you’ve taken and I don’t particularly care either at this point in time but snap out of it already. I’m not Claudia or whoever you think I am in your weird state of mind, I am Nadia remember? I’m your friend and when you’re finally not high or drunk or whatever then I can help but right now just get the hell out and sort yourself out!_ ” she said, pointing fiercely to the glass door behind him leading to the, thankfully, empty department.

He looked really shocked and taken aback at this and there was a tense silence as Nadia continued to stare him down. Instead of backing away he took a step forward and looked at her with extreme concern and pain - even more so than before.

“ _You truly do not know me do you?_ ” He said tenderly, coming to a stop a comfortable distance from her. He didn’t wait for her reply. “ _Oh sorellina what have they done to you?_ ”

Before she could react, he had embraced her and held her tightly. Again the deja vu washed over her though this time it was much stronger than before. She felt like she wanted to cry, this side of Declan was scary and she was extremely worried for her friend. He really did need help.

A few seconds later she pushed him away though she was the one moving to leave her own office. Before she could walk through the door though she heard Declan fall to the floor behind her, when she looked back she saw him lying on the ground and clutching his head, groaning in pain and rolling a little from side to side.

“Declan?” now she was worried as she crouched next to him.

“My pills.” he said looking at her through his agony filled eyes.

“Where?”

“Bottom drawer.” he muttered as he rolled away from her, she thought she heard Italian words slip silently out of his mouth but she quickly stood up and dashed to his office, rifling through his drawer until the found the brown jar containing some sort of prescribed medicine. She clasped it tightly in her hand and ran back to him, handing him the jar and watching him swallow two of the pills.

After a minute or two of rolling and mouthing words, Declan eventually calmed down and was able to sit up normally. Nadia helped him stand and sat him back down in the leather chair, beside the pieces of porcelain mug and the large brown stain on the grey carpet.

“You okay?” she asked after a minute of silent worrying, she was perched on the arm of the chair as he ran a hand through his long hair.

“Yeah, no, I’m fine. I’m sorry about that, I just don’t know that’s gonna happen. I think it’s worse when I get too stressed or worried or whatever.” Declan said, rubbing his eyes with his hands and sounding a lot more tired than he had before.

“It’s okay, you just scared me a little there - I thought you were high or somethin’.” Nadia said truthfully as she watched him closely. Another episode was the last thing she needed.

Declan chuckled a little and Nadia was glad he was slowly getting back to normal.

“What did I do?” he asked after he was done laughing.

“Uh...” Nadia started, having no idea how to explain it. “well you talked completely in Italian, as a Florentine, and told me we had to leave because this place was doing ‘sorcery’. You also called me ‘little sister’ and was surprised I knew English.”

“Wow... that’s worse than before.”

“How long have these, uh, episodes gone on for?” Nadia asked, curiosity slowly taking the place of concern.

“Two years, on and off. This is the most recent one since about a month ago. I usually take the medicine just before I turn though.”

This stunned Nadia into silence, she had never known her friend suffered from multiple personalities. Him turning into a very old fashioned Florentine was scary but she now knew it must be much worse for him. Of course it would be.

“I shouted at you,” Nadia said quietly after her time of thinking and taking that all in. “oh my god, I’m sorry. I shoulda thought -”

“Hey,” he interrupted, clasping her shoulder and squeezing it a little as he stood. “it’s okay, you had no idea. You just thought I was goin’ crazy or on drugs.”

“Declan-”

“Nah it’s okay, that was my weak attempt at a joke.” he chuckled and let her shoulder go. She looked at him then away as she tried to stop her own smile.

“There we go, you smiled eventually.” he said as he dusted off his trousers and grinned at her.

“I hate you.” she said with a slight grin of her own.

“Aw well that’s what friends are for!” he said as another knock came at the door. Nadia looked over and internally groaned - it was Andrew.

“Ah what a surprise, you two are lazing around doing nothing.”

“Technically we shouldn’t even be in work yet so I think we deserve a break.” Nadia couldn’t help but snap. She was tired, and not just sleepy, and her friend had just had an outbreak so she really didn’t have time for Andrew being a dick just right now.

He just stood there in the doorway for a minute in silence as his usual smug expression appeared on his face.

_Well, there goes my job!_

“So I take it you don’t want to go to Italy like I had planned for you to?” Andrew said though his expression still remained.  
Nadia froze.

“What?"

“I’m not saying it again.” he snapped, what little patience he had had vanished.

_Jerk._

“Why do you want me to go to Italy?”

“You’ll see.” was all he said as he flashed that stupid smirk that made Nadia really considering punching him in the face to get rid of it.

“At least tell me when and where I am going.” she said, now really interested. She hadn’t been to her parents’ home country for a couple of years and lately she had been longing to see her family again - her parents had moved back to their home in Rome a year ago.

_PleaseletitbeRome,pleaseletitbeRome!_

“You are to go to Florence and you leave in, oh, two hours. You’ll be there for three days.” Andrew said and the look he gave Nadia was one that said ‘Well I am glad to get rid of you for three days’

Oh the many ways of killing him that went through her head.

“Alright... wait two hours?! How am I supposed to go pack and get to the airport in that time?” she said, now looking a little panicked. This was New York and she lived quite a long way from the studio.

“You are half ready already,” Andrew said, waving a hand casually at the suitcase that leaned against the glass wall of her office next to him. “I had Kirsty go to your house and pack for you. I know she has a spare key to your house.”

“What? How did you-”

“Enough questions, you’re giving me a headache. Just carry on working until someone comes to collect you.” Andrew said, waving dismissively at her before turning his back on them and striding away.

“Woah... well it looks like you’re kinda getting the holiday you were wishing after.” Declan said, breaking his silence after her door closed.

“Yeah if you forget the fact that’s it’s in the wrong place and I don’t even know why I’m going! Ugh why does Andrew have to be such a jerk and stand there looking all smug!”

“Believe me if I was his boss, he would have a permanently bruised face.” Declan added, and Nadia nodded approvingly. The thought of that calmed her down as she slumped back down in her chair.

“Ah what I would pay to see you do that.” she said with a small laugh as she glanced back at her work.

“What I’d paid to do it!” he said, laughing too. “Well I’d better leave you to it, let you do as much work as possible so Andrew isn’t on your case when you get back. Have fun in Florence.”

Nadia got up and hugged her friend with a smile, glad the deja vu didn’t come this time.

“Thanks, keep me up to date on everything that goes on here, ‘kay?”

“Definitely.” he said hugging her back before they parted. “See ya later.”

“Bye.” she said as she finally turned back to her neglected work.

Seconds later she heard the familiar sound of a new email. She glanced down at the small box at the top corner of her screen to see who it was from. She froze when she saw it was the mystery person. After a deep breath and a moment of worrying, she clicked on it and let the new email take over her screen.

‘Your family just want you home.’

She just read that and felt that deja vu again before shaking it off, pushing it aside and carrying on with her work

**{This chapter is a filler chapter before things start to get real.**   
**Hope you enjoyed this,**   
**Until next time,**   
**VampireVampyre}**


	4. Spiritual Surprise

** Home Chapter 4 **

_Chapter 4: Spirtitual Surprise_

**{Disclaimer: I don’t own Ghost Adventures, just so you know!}**

 

Nadia was in a good mood as the private jet touched down at Pisa airport. She still had no idea why she was here but she knew they couldn’t keep her in the dark much longer. Already she was getting texts from her friends and colleagues telling her how they wished her luck, missed her and Declan cheekily commented about her growing workload and how her temporary cover, Casey, wasn’t half as fun as she was.

She emailed them throughout the hour long trip in the taxi, provided by Abstergo Entertainment of course, from Pisa International Airport to Florence. For once she was glad Abstergo insisted on upgrading and improving her tablet to keep in contact with her workmates, they paid the costs (even abroad) and had insisted in covering things from her wardrobe to her travel and food costs. It had felt suffocating to Nadia but considering how broke she had been at the time, she couldn’t really say no. She had gotten used it now and so seeing the Abstergo everywhere so now it was just part of normality.

“We have arrived madam.” the chauffeur said to her as the car stopped outside the five star Montebello Splendid Hotel. She nodded to him and said thanks as he opened the door for her and then took her small amount of luggage into the hotel for her. She kept quiet as she was booked into a room and given the key. She just kept imagining the reason why she was in such a beautiful and historic city in her home country.

Once alone in her room, she dumped her bags in the first plush chair she saw and plopped onto the nice, soft and very expensive bed and was tempted to order room service which was also, apparently, paid for too. That nice thought, however, was sadly interrupted by a confident knock at the door. She sighed, wishing for one moment of peace alone in this hotel room so she could just relax.

When she opened the door a tattooed, hair gelled man wearing pretty much all black, backed up with a bald guy with a full moustache and beard combo in similar black and a brown haired guy in more casual clothing, though also sporting a moustache and slight beard, who was smiling at her friendlily.

“Nadia right?” the man with the hair spiked up with gel said, keeping his nice smile which was mirrored by the other guys. He was obviously American and she was kinda glad, they kinda reminded her of the place she missed most.

“Yeah?” she said though with a small, though confused, smile.

“Great! My name’s Zak and these two are Nick and Aaron,” Zak said, gesturing to Moustache Beard man and Mr Casual. Aaron and Nick both waved to her slightly. “you still have no idea why you’re here right?”

“Not a clue though I’m guessing you’re gonna enlighten me?” she hoped, looking between the three in turn. Aaron and Nick exchanged a look while Zak broke into a slightly wider grin. She just looked at them in the little moment of silence.

“We’re the main crew members from the Ghost Adventures team, you’ll be filming a lockdown episode with us. Is that okay?”

Nadia didn’t know whether to laugh or cry or be angry. Andrew had sent her thousands of miles to Florence to film a ghost program?!

“Are you serious?!” she said after being stunned into silence for a few seconds. “So I’m gonna film one of those spoof paranormal shows, that’s why my boss sent me here?! Oh my god!” Nadia began to laugh after that, ignoring the offended looks on the guys’ faces.

“We’re not a ‘spoof’ show, we actually do capture some pretty awesome paranormal stuff.” Aaron piped up after Nadia began to stop her slightly hysterical laughter. Now she just looked at him strangely.

_He actually believes in that utter shit?_

She looked at the other two who were looking completely serious though casual like they experienced this a lot.

“Y-you’re completely serious? Wow, okay...uh, so what would I have to do?” she said, now a little intrigued and a little amused by this whole thing. She needed cheering up and this was just the thing to do it, laugh at people who seriously believe in the oh-so-real-and-spooky ghosts and goulds that absolutely definitely walked the Earth. Internally she laughed but she was also glad that the guys’ expressions changed now, maybe because she was technically not declining the job. Sure she didn’t believe but she was willing to play along for the sake of their feelings.

“You’re gonna just help us try to communicate and spot anything paranormal at our location - maybe translate a little too. We’ll give you a run through with all of the devices later.” Aaron said as she finally let them into her barely touched room.

“Our location is an old renaissance villa-turned-hotel which was the location of three accusations of treasons against the city and the unwilling abuse of one of the accused’s wife.” Zak said as he sat down on the bed.

“The Villa Auditore. Once the home of the noble Auditore family."

Just as the name slipped off of Nick’s lips, Nadia again felt deja vu and she became both scared and confused as she became a little nauseated. A sense of panic threatened to overcome her but there was something else she felt too, it took the edge off of the panic and held her steady as she stood and tried to push past it.

“You okay?”

A hand on her shoulder brought her out of her state and she gasped before blinking and nodding. She was very confused and scared but she just swallowed it down, it seemed to be the best thing to do.

“You felt something towards that house didn’t you?” Zak pressed, now gripping her shoulder to both steady her and show his urgency in finding out about her moment.

“I just had a little dizzy moment, I’m a little jet lagged after all.”

“Aren’t we all.” Nick said jokily, lightening the mood.

“You sure you’re okay with this?” Aaron asked, looking concerned but wary.

"Yeah, no, of course. Maybe this'll change my mind about the paranormal." Nadia managed while holding down a smile.

"Hopefully," Zak agreed. "I hope we find something in there, its supposed to be one of the most haunted places in Florence."

"Bad things happened in there." Nick added and all three men nodded.

"What exactly?" Nadia said as dread began to settle in her stomach. She had a very bad feeling about this.

"In October 1496 two of the Auditore children, the only female and one of the four males, went missing from this house and from the records they were never found."

"Wow that sounds horrible." Nadia said, trying to imagine the remaining family members' struggle to find them. There were missing cases of children all the time in New York and she had seen many unsolved cases with no happy endings on the news.

"That's not all, just two months later on the 29th of December the same year, the two remaining children and their father were publicly executed, charged with treason against the city. The mother was allowed to remain her and died half a year later. She is thought to be the main spirit haunting the place."

Nadia was silent as the empathy and dread ate away at her stomach. She could imagine the mother all alone in that house, willing her two lost children to come home and grieving the loss of her husband the the children she knew were dead.

"Zak stop freaking her out!" Aaron interrupted, breaking her out of her disturbing thoughts. "That first bit about the children is myth, there's no record of any searches or anything to suggest that happened."

"We know she was likely to have died after being looked after by the two that 'supossedly' went missing." Nick said, giving her a small smile as their words made the sadness she felt a little less at she thought of that much happier ending. "We even have marriage records for the daughter. Face it man, your conspiracy theory is wrong!"

Zak looked like he was about to argue but then just returned Nick and Aarons' playful grins.

"What time do I have to be there?" Nadia asked after watching the men happily banter for a few minutes.

"Like eight," Aaron said as Nick and Zak engaged in a playful scruffle. "We need to have time to set up, give you a run through on all our gear, then introduce you before the lock down."

"Lockdown?" Nadia asked, as humourous as this whole thing was, she didnt like the sound of that word.

"We stay in there all night, pretty much, filming. We're locked in to prevent interference from anyone."

"And we'll be in what, pitch black?"

"You'll have a flashlight but pretty much, yeah."

"Great..." she said, showing her dislike.

"Scared of the dark Nadia?" Zak asked as he fought.

"Nah, just annoyed at being in the dark with you guys." she said, grinning slightly. "Who knows what kinda pranks you'll pull of the newbie!"

All three guys laughed though Nadia did too.

"Aww she's foiled our plan!" Nick joked as he got up from the floor.

"Hey can we stay here instead? This place is so much better than ours!" Aaron said, eyeing up the huge TV and mini bar.

"You can stay here for the moment, since I have no company if you want. Help yourselves to the mini bar - my company's told me I can."

The men looked at her with amazement the all swarmed the minibar as they stayed to talk and relax until they had to go the spooky house.

**{Okay, so I had planned to go further in this chapter but I just couldn’t get the next part right so this is where the chapter will end for now. Trust me, it does get better!}**


	5. Paranormal Surprises

**Home Chapter 5**

_Chapter 5: Paranormal Encounters_

The closer the time got to the midnight ‘lockdown’ on location, the more the nerves got to her and the more creative her imagination got. Many scenarios darted through her head even though she was insistent that the program was stupid and fake.

_What if they really do find a ghost? I wouldn’t be able to get out!... Okay Nadia, look ghosts aren’t real. This show is stupid and Andrew only sent you here so he could laugh at the thought of me here and annoy me like hell. There is nothing for you to worry about. Now go out there and show Andrew that this hasn’t affected you at all._

After that inspirational pep talk to herself, the creepy old lady, whose grandson ran the place, came into the dining room she had settled in. The old lady, Violetta apparently, creeped Nadia out and mostly because all she did was stare at her and didn’t speak.

_Get a grip Nadia, geez you’re already freakin’ yourself out!_

She took a breath and made an effort to smile though almost shudder when she felt the woman’s cold and bony hand grasp her hand as they walked. She politely slowed so she wouldn’t make the woman trip.

“ _You are truly here? I am honoured that you came here._ ” the woman said and that made every resenting thought drop out of her head.

_Honoured? Wow, the fact that she is honoured... by me. I didn’t think news anchors, especially foreign ones, were so respected. She sure must like our show._

“ _I kept it as true as I could, I hope you like it._ ”

“ _Thank you, it looks amazing._ ”

“ _I had always hoped to see you, you kept so strong in the face of everything. Your brother did not know how much he truly relied on you, you are my hero._ ”

Nadia really didn’t know what to say, she was absolutely speechless. This creepy woman was actually really nice and was being very sweet - although if a little inaccurate since she was an only child. She really didn’t take much note of that though since Nadia didn’t expect her to know everything about her.

“ _Thank you, that really means a lot to me._ ”

The old woman gave her a bright smile and kissed her cheek before letting her go just as they heard voices of the others in the lobby.

“Ah Nadia there you are, we’re about to start shooting.” Aaron said as he grinned at her, holding a portable, but still high tech, camera. It was a big hunk of technology and he had to hold it carefully on his shoulder.

Nadia looked over at Violetta and she winked at her before settling beside her grandson, grasping the crook of his bent arm as they stood by the door. They were ready to lock up the hotel.

“Any last minute nerves?” Nick asked her as he walked out of a little side corridor that lead to the kitchen, the team’s ‘nerve centre’ for the night.

“Not really.” she lied just before Zak went into place beside Violetta and her handsome grandson Marco.

“Well you’re brave.” Nick said with a grin, earning a little groan from Aaron who had been just about to start rolling.

“We’re here at midnight to begin the lockdown. Marco are you ready to lock us in?”

Zak said in a weird professional way - he tended to goof around more in person.

“Yes sir.” Marco said, taking out his key before opening the door and walking out with his grandmother before the camera focussed for a moment on the door as he locked it.

After this, Zak spoke to the camera a while, walking into the kitchen to introduce the ‘nerve centre’ and other crew to the viewers. Nadia took this as a chance to look around the place now that the lights had also been turned off. To be honest, the place certainly felt haunted with the eery darkness which was only brightened by the bright beam of her flashlight but even then the shadows always seemed to look menacing.

_Okay Nads, seriously. Get. A. Grip. Just think of punching Andrew in the face, that always helps._

Nadia could feel herself subconsciously smiling as she thought about it and felt her paranoia fade away.

“What are you laughing about?” Nick asked her, turning his flashlight beam on her now with a grin of his own.

“Punching my asshole of a boss.” Nadia said with satisfaction which caused Nick to chuckle.

“Ah I see, was he the one who sent you here?”

“Yeah,” she said, thinking less violent thoughts now. “it was nice visiting my home country again but my parents lived in Roma. And it would have been better if I hadn’t been doing this - no offence.” Nadia said, remembering her parents and how much she missed them - even if her father had refused to pick up any of her calls since she refused to go back to Italy with them. She stayed in contact with her mom though sometimes it was difficult for her mother to reply soon due to time difference and hiding from her husband to do it. She knew they both loved each other but her father was pretty insistent that family should stay together and just didn’t understand her want to stay in her home country.

“None taken, I guess you haven’t seen them in a while?” Nick said and she was about to reply when Zak came back with Aaron and she had to be introduced to the camera with her usual smile.

“Are you ready Nadia?” Zak said and Nadia nodded confidently at him and the camera.

“Yeah, as ready as I’ll ever be I guess.”

“Okay, we’ll split up first. Nadia and I’ll go upstairs and Aaron and Nick will stay downstairs.” Zak said, half to them and half to the camera as Nadia stood beside him, ready to go. But even now, the silence and darkness of the place hit her and made the atmosphere a little less friendly. The only light sources were their flashlights and the light emanating from the kitchen. She looked back into the dark corridor and felt uneasy as Zak got out his thermal imaging camera ready to film. Glad she wasn’t alone, Nadia walked forward into the darkness, illuminating Renaissance-style furniture and paintings that were everywhere.

Zak filled the silence that threatened to overwhelm them from time to time but at most points he just stayed quiet, in case something happened. It sure was the right atmosphere for it. The further away Nadia got from the others and the security of the door, the more creepy and eery the place seemed in the darkness, it was as if the darkness swallowed the hotel’s friendly and homely atmosphere and instead turned it into a sense of horror and hostility - maybe as if transporting it back to the time that the previous owners had left.

Suddenly she heard sobbing from down the hall and she immediately ran over there without thinking, leaving Zak shouting at her from behind. The room was so close and the door was wide open, she could see that the room was lit, the light flickering out of the door as if it were candle lit. Wasting no time in walking in, Nadia came to a stop just outside the partly open door.

The room inside looked warm and cozy. The walls were covered in intricate patterns and everything inside was some sort of shade of red, brown or gold that made everything seem so nice. She could make out a beautifully carved wardrobe from the ajar door and smiled, remembering how the patterns and smooth wood felt under her fingers, the precious and beautiful clothes held in it and the ornate screen that stood next to it. She had spent endless hours trying on dress after dress behind that screen. She pushed the door open wide and stepping inside, immediately walking over to the plush four poster bed and sitting down at its edge, knowing how it felt to lie beneath the warm covers and be fussed over when ill.

_How do I know this! I’ve... I’ve never been here before... have I?_

Rubbing her head, she closed her eyes and sighed, wincing at the ache that was building there.

_What’s goin’ on with me today huh?_

Opening her eyes was possibly the worst thing she could do. As soon as she did, the scene changed and all warmth and friendliness drained away, to be replaced by the cold and Nadia shivered and looked around.

The candles on her dresser and desk were burnt out and melted completely and the sunlight only barely filtered in through the drawn curtains. However, everything else seemed pristine and cared for - immaculately arranged.

About to take a step forward, Nadia stopped as she heard quiet sobs echo around the room, each one contracting around her heart and heart her as if it were an iron cage. She looked over to the bed, the source of the sobbing, and saw a woman kneeling there with her hands clasped in front of her as they rested on the bed. Her long, hair was peppered with grey and fell loosely around her shoulders in neglect of being styled, like a curtain hiding her face from view.

Quietly edging forward, Nadia heard what the woman chanted to herself in between sobs, lips moving as they whispered the mantra.

" _Please, Lord, guide my children home. Forgive me for whatever sin we have done in order to bring this upon us. I will do anything, just let them be safe and here._ "

Hearing those words clenched Nadia's heart tighter as she felt the desperate pain and grief saturating every syllable. She wanted to help and so she spoke. Maybe she could help the mother find her missing children.

" _Hello?_ " She said gently, hoping she didn't frighten the woman too much.

The woman gasped and looked up, rising to her feet immediately, looking all around but not at her.

" _Excuse me madam, I didn't mean to disturb you. I just -_ "

" _No!_ " The woman wailed, sinking to her knees, grasping at her hair in desperation. " _No please!_ "

Nadia gasped and took another step forward and she felt something tug within her. Strong feelings came to the surface and the more she looked at the grieving woman, the more it hurt her. Until a memory formed in her mind and she gasped, her mind grasping her first self blindly.

" _Mama?_ " She asked, moving forward and sinking to her knees by the woman.

The woman didn't reply and just hysterically cried and wailed.

" _Mama please, can you hear me?_ "

Panic rose in Claudia and when her mother failed to respond again, her mind was so far in desperation that she curled up beside her mother and began to shake before reaching out to stroke her mother's cheek tenderly. Maybe that would make her listen.

She failed to hold in a scream as her hand went straight through her mother's head and the whole scene disappeared, leaving her alone in the pitch black. She was cold, so cold and confused. Why was everything dark, what happened to her mother?

Running footsteps caught her attention and she prayed that her father or one of her brothers would come in and sort this out for her. This was scaring her so much.

"Nadia!" She heard someone shout and her heart beat faster in panic. She didn't know that voice, she didn't know the person they were calling to. It meant that strangers were in her family's house. She couldn't help but imagine what they had done with her family and what they would do with her. She screamed again as she heard someone enter the room and a beam of light entered with it.

"Nadia? Are you okay?"

They stepped forward and immediately she shuffled back as far as she could go. They were sorcerers, who spoke in gibberish and were able to conjure light, and she didn't want to be anywhere near them.

" _Stay away! Don't hurt me!_ " She said, shielding her face with her hands.

"Hey it's me, it's Aaron. Remember?" they said, edging ever forward. Claudia began to cry, she couldn't understand what they said but she assumed it to be violent.

" _P-please don't kill me. I've d-done nothing to you!_ " She said, in between sobs of distress.

"Zak come quick, something's happened to Nadia!" The man said and then emitted a terrible crackling sound that made Claudia wail and shake.

"On my way, what happened?" Another voice said through the static and Claudia tried to shuffle towards the door but keeping as far away as possible for the man and his ball of light.

The man did not come nearer to her but he kept speaking in gibberish and Claudia believed, despite his soft tone, that he was putting a curse on her.

She managed to shuffle out of the door just as the man moved to her. She screamed again as the door slammed shut in front of him.

" _Claudia!_ " A voice said from around the corner of the pitch black corridor.

" _Father!_ " She cried gratefully as the man came into view, looking at her in extreme concern.

" _What happened to you? What is going on?_ "

" _I saw mother crying in my room and when I went to touch her, she faded then a man came in holding a ball of light and spoke in tongues. He wanted to hurt me!_ "

Her father's face hardened and he stepped in front of her as footsteps approached. She hid behind him and felt comforted as she knew her father would get rid of them.

"Nadia?" A new voice called as loud, hurried footsteps reverberated around the corridor.

" _Stay away from my daughter!_ " Her father shouted and the footsteps stopped.

"Fuck!" The new stranger shouted in surprise, slowly moving towards them again, causing Claudia to hold her breath.

"Zak? What's up?" The sorcerer said from within the room though his voice was close.

"I just got a really strong EVP. I have no idea what it said but it definitely didn't sound friendly!" The man, Zak, said curiously.

"Hang on, I'm coming." The original man called, as his footsteps came even closer. Claudia whimpered.

"Wait Nadia?"

The ball of light threw a ray of brightness into her face and she both squinted and whimpered again, wondering why they ignored her father and picked on her.

"She went crazy in there, I don't know what happened but I don't like it. She doesn't seem to understand us at the moment."

Claudia curled up into a ball and felt the coolness of her father's hand brushing her cheek before it disappeared along with him. She gasped, her eyes widening in shock and fear for her father.

"Holy shit!" The sorcerer cursed as he jumped back for whatever reason

"Dude there is so much energy in here, I can feel it, I have goosebumps."

"Maybe it's possessing Nadia!"

Suddenly the men fell silent and that scared Cladia more as the light had been extinguished and she couldn't see anything.

"We need to get her out of here, hopefully that will weaken whatever hold the spirit has on her and we can, maybe, calm her down."

"I've never seen anything like this!"

Two hands grabbed her arms, hauled her to her feet and dragged her away as she screamed and wriggled and tried to lash out at them as they did.

The whole house seemed to be angry with her as she felt a coldness spread through the air and a whole atmosphere of anger around her.

Doors slammed, objects fell, sounds were heard and all around the place made itself hostile as long as the men were holding on to Claudia. The minute they set her down next to the main door, everything went quiet.

"They don't like us touching her." One man said as the other went for help.

By now Claudia began to feel funny, her mind beginning to half understand what they say while she gained a splitting head ache which made her head throb. She gasped and clasped at her head before it all stopped and the world went black.

**{I hope you enjoyed this chapter!}**


	6. Finding Help

** Home Chapter 6 **

_Chapter 6: Finding Help_

When Nadia woke up her head was pounding and she was pretty cold. She thought she had a hangover but didn't remember drinking at all just... just that room and now this. Pausing for a moment, she closed her eyes and waited to see if her brain would put together the missing pieces but it came up blank.

"She's awake." Billy said to Nick who came up to her as she sat up and held her head.

"Nadia, you okay? You had us all pretty scared out there." Nick said cautiously as he stood in front of her.

"Sorry," Nadia said quietly as she rubbed her eyes and blinked. "Didn't mean to black out."

"Nadia you got possessed, it was the creepiest shit I have ever seen!" Nick insisted with wide eyes and even Billy nodded.

"Wait what?!" Nadia said in shock, standing and waiting for the brief dizziness to pass. That didn't happen, that was impossible.

"Come over here and I'll show you." Billy said and Nadia sat down in the chair beside her. "Maybe you can translate for us too."

Nadia frowned then gasped at the footage and audio they had of her; how she had screamed about sorcerers and to her 'mother' and 'father'. What freaked her out most was when she talked to thin air convincingly. When the footage had finished, she was at a loss of words. There was no way she could say anything other than plainly translating her words.

"Do you remember saying any of that?" Billy asked as someone gave her some water. Nadia sipped that with slightly shaking hands.

"Not a thing." Nadia said after a moment. "Did you catch it?"

"Yeah, we were hoping you could translate what you said and what it said." Billy said as he moved the screen closer to her.

"I...sure." She said, moving her chair closer to the screen before they played it. Whenever they paused it she translated but automatically. She was also thinking about the whole thing again and about how something wasn't right at all. Not just that whole freaky possession thing but everything. Something was just, she couldn't explain it to herself really, off.

"Huh, well we should radio Zak and Aaron here before I explain my theory." Nick said mysteriously before his expression shifted once again to concern. "Do you want to go home? We can call the owner to come and unlock the place briefly so you can get out."

"No I'm okay, I got through it... I may just stay here though for the rest of the night."

"You can help me man the cameras." Billy said before they went silent as something caught his eye. Aaron was looking around him in one of the bedrooms and his hand shot to the back of his neck and Nadia swore he actually jumped 10cm into the air making a loud scream of shock. It actually made her laugh despite everything.

"Aaron you okay?" Billy radioed after seeing that.

"No dude, something just tickled the back of my neck. It felt kinda like a feather but I dunno for sure." Aaron explained while still freaking out and looking around constantly, swearing occasionally.

Nick was about to say something when they all heard and saw a door slam in one of the rooms and the camera collapse and black out. There was no-one in that room but everyone in that house reacted and made some sort of movement or sound in shock.

"What room is that?" Nick asked and Billy pulled the footage up to take up the whole screen.

"Uh what used to be the office." Billy said eventually before radioing Zak to tell him about the camera.

Now Nadia got fidgety and she didn't really know why. She just knew that she didn't want to be stuck in this room. Yeah this place freaked her the hell out but at the same time... it actually comforted her. Hell, she didn't know how or why but it felt as comfortable and kinda peaceful in some ways.

"I'll be back soon." Nadia said after a second of decision, getting to her feet and walking to the door.

"Nadia no! We need you to be safe." Nick protested and moved towards Nadia but Nadia shook her head.

"No, it's okay. I just... I wanna go out there. You have a camera that needs sorting right? I'll go do that." Nadia said as she gripped her flashlight. She had to do this. Both for courage (she really hoped she didn't get possessed this time) and curiosity. Sitting in the corner crying is not the one to be when there was news to be uncovered.

"Okay, just take this and radio in if you need us." Billy said, handing her a radio.

Nadia nodded and clipped it to her belt before walking out of the room and closing the door behind her. Once in the pitch black she turned on her flashlight and began to head in a direction. It was kinda weird, she hadn't really needed her previous tour of the place to know where everything was.

Apart from the distant voices and disturbances the other two men made both upstairs and in other rooms, the place was silent. Still she was slightly unnerved as the atmosphere felt almost alive with tension and electricity.

She knocked on the door then giggled a little. No-one was in that room so it was so stupid of her to knock. Slowly she opened the door and shined her flashlight in the empty room and made another little giggle.

This room was obviously used now as the hotel's main office as there was some modern equipment like filing cabinets and a computer etcetera. It just seemed a little funny considering how old fashioned pretty much all of the other rooms looked to have modern stuff.

_What? Did you think they'd do everything by hand and have no telephone or website or anything? Maybe!_

Nadia shook her head at her inner dialogue and searched the room for the fallen camera. It took a little while since she had only the light of her flashlight but she soon spotted the tripod and fixed it but didn't turn it back on.

Surprisingly she was calm and content even when she felt a presence placing a hand on her shoulder. She turned around but no-one was there, but then she felt a presence and knew who it was somehow. She turned off her flashlight so as to not scare them away.

"Father." She said without thinking as that was the single thought that ran through her head. She didn't even question it even though her own father was working in Rome a long way from here and definitely wasn't dead.

Now there was pressure on her cheeks as a whisper came in her ear.

" _What have they done to you bambina mia?"_

"I don't know, but I will find out and fix this. I will return to you father, I promise it." Nadia said and let the words flow. It wasn't like she wasn't aware she was saying them - she still felt in control of herself - but it was actually her saying them, just a different part of her. She genuinely meant them too.

_"Good luck Claudia, I hope you and your brother can keep that promise."_

She felt the warmth of phantom lips to her forehead before she felt herself be alone again.

_Claudia... that name again... and a brother? I'm seriously going to ask mama about this. Am I adopted? Is that it?_

That experience had left her curious but not scared and sparked a lot of questions as she finally turned the camera on and waved to it to show them that it was working then turned her flashlight on and left the room.

**...**

Nadia slept through most of the next day since she had missed out on her precious five hours of sleep. After that she ran through what had happened the night before as she laid there.

"Huh." she said as she sat up. When she had been thinking the whole thing through, she had actually found a common theme in everything. Her brothers, well the thought of her having brothers.

_"Remember your brothers!" Dr Ashford back in New York had said that just before she had been forced away._

_"Oh sorellina, what have they done to you?" That was what Declan had said in his little 'fit'._

_"Your brother did not know how much he relied on you." The nice old lady, Violetta, had said to her._

_"I hope you and your brother can keep that promise." That was what 'father' or Giovanni Auditore's spirit had told her._

"Maybe it's time to investigate Claudia Auditore and her family a bit deeper. Seems they have a connection to me at least. I can then ask the others like that crazy doctor about it!" Nadia said as she got out her tablet and connected to the complimentary wi-fi. As weird as this all was, it was pretty exciting too and definitely interesting as hell.

But after minutes of frustration, Nadia was almost about to launch the stupid tablet out of the window when someone knocked on her door. She would just load up Safari and type in the woman's name into the url bar and hit return then the whole browser would close or the 'webpage not found' screen would pop up. She had checked the wi-fi connection and connection to google itself and any other website worked but not that.

"Argh!" she had almost screamed in frustration. This was the most interesting thing since forever and she couldn't even research it! Then she had pretty much wrenched the door open to see Declan standing there with an eyebrow raised. He looked smart-but-casual as usual with his grey suit jacket, crisp white t-shirt, blue jeans and brown dress shoes. The sunglasses were tucked in his breast pocket as usual.

"What's got you so annoyed?" Declan said as he walked into the room and dropped his bag by the door.

"Just my tablet being a stupid piece of shit." Nadia grumbled before hugging her friend. "Anyway, what're you doin' here?!"

"Andrew sent me off to interview the cast of that period movie coming out next year." Declan said as he hugged her back. "So I thought I'd drop by and see how you were doing with your "spooky" adventure!" Declan said with a chuckle as he let her go. "Did you get taught many pranks?"

"Hey, don't even say that!" Nadia said, now kinda annoyed at his disbelieving attitude.

"Woah what?" Declan said, looking surprised at her offence. When Nadia was silent he sat on the bed beside her and his eyebrows furrowed as he thought about it. "You mean you saw something?"

"I saw a lot of things." Nadia said as she popped the disc she had been given into the DVD player. After the whole event she had only needed to begin to ask before footage was pressed into her hands. "I'm gonna have to show you because honestly I have no idea how to explain any of it!"

"Nadia -"

"Look I am completely serious! Just sit down and watch and shut your cake hole!" Nadia said and glared at him to stop him arguing again.

"Okay Nads." Declan said quieter and sat down beside her.

Surprisingly he was quiet though physically shied away at certain points in the footage but then when it came to her possession he at first freaked out but then just sat there with a puzzled look on his face.

Nadia noticed this and paused the footage after she fainted. "What is it?" she asked him curiously.

"Well this is pretty freaky since you say you don't remember it. It's just..." Declan shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I thought I recognised that voice that's all."

Nadia just stared at him in shock. He recognised it?!

"Well whose is it? Do you know where you remembered it from?" she said and leant towards him. She was so excited that there might be some new knowledge on this case.

Declan frowned and his eyebrows creased into their familiar line as he tried to think and Nadia was staring at him impatiently. After about a minute of intense silence, Declan sighed and rubbed his head.

"It's on the tip of my tongue but I just can't think of it!" he growled frustratedly but Nadia patted his shoulder.

"As frustrating as it is, thanks anyway Dec." she said with a smile and kept her annoyance to herself. It wasn't his fault after all.

"I'll find out, I know I can!" Declan said with gritted teeth.

"No seriously Dec it's fine. Don't strain yourself!" She said to him just as her tablet and phone beeped to alert her that she had a new email. She checked it out as Declan calmed down. _._

_This's 4 kinds of creepy! But it's also the only lead I have... ah fuck it. Those famous last words._

"What's up Nads?" Declan said, noticing Nadia's silence and serious expression.

"The weirdo stalker has sprung up again." Nadia said and showed him the email. She had told Declan about the emails only a day before she was sent to Italy. She'd been getting more and more freaked out (but intrigued) by them. He had been only a little interested and simply told her to report them and get it sorted. Nadia didn't though as she knew this wasn't just some petty thing. All the way through it had been teasing her about 'the truth' and now they were finally wanting to tell her. She couldn't back down now.

"I thought you reported them." Declan said and looked at her guilty expression.

"..."

"Nadia!"

"Look they're gonna meet me and finally tell me what the fuck they actually want." Nadia argued as he shook his head at her.

"You can't be serious!" He said with wide eyes as he looked at her in disbelief. "If you do then the next time I'll see you is in a body bag!"

"Stop overreacting! I'll be fine and there'll be lots of people around!" Nadia snapped, he had no right to try and control what she did and didn't do.

"Look I just don't want to see you hurt." Declan snapped right back.

"Since when do you care? You never used to hang out back when we had less work and could socialise. It was always Millie, which I get. But then you'd be annoyed when I couldn't see you."

"Yeah well that won't be a problem anymore. The baby isn't mine and she dumped me." Declan said quietly and bowed his head. Nadia immediately calmed down and hugged him.

"God I'm sorry Dec." she said and leant her head against her best friend's shoulder. A minute later he leant his head against hers.

"S'okay you didn't know. My last fit in your office interrupted me going to tell you." He said quietly and hugged her back.

There was a long moment of them just hugging before they let each other go.

"You can go to that creepy person but I am coming with you okay?" Declan said and Nadia smiled and nodded.

"Yeah." She said and looked at the clock on the tablet's lock screen. They had a little time to get ready.

"Do you know what they're gonna tell you?" He asked once she had shown him the email.

"No but I have a feeling that it may be to do with the thing I have been trying to figure out. If not, it's still something big that has been kept from me."

Declan nodded and stood up. "Well, let's get going then."

Nadia stood as well and grabbed her purse as they headed for the door.

**{This is sort of the end of what I think of as the first part to this story. So yeah, things are gonna get real next chapter and the identity of the secret messenger is revealed. Next chapter is also where things will definitely involve the Templars (and Assassins) a lot more. }**


	7. The Catacombs

**Home Chapter 7**

_Chapter 7: The Catacombs_

Just as they got to their location Nadia suddenly began to panic about her clothes of all things.

This person is obviously a weirdo but what if he is really handsome or a millionaire or something? Am I too underdressed, or worse, overdressed!

"Nads you seriously can't be worrying about clothes!" Declan said with a sigh as they stopped outside the great looming building that was the Palazzo Vecchio or 'Old Palace' as it was in English. It's name was just as obvious as the Ponte Vecchio's was - it means 'Old Bridge'. But it was pretty old; as they waited they overheard a tour guide explain that it was built in the thirteenth century.

"They could be anyone!" Nadia argued as she straightened her pink chiffon blouse. It was pretty smart casual so she thought she would be okay.

"Exactly! It's mostly gonna be some weirdo stalker in scrummy clothes who wants to murder you." Declan almost growled as he scanned the whole place.

"I swear you what too many cop programmes! Just relax, besides you're here with me too." Nadia said as she looked around as well.

They were currently standing in the Piazza della Signoria in front of the building and looked around. It was practically all tourists taking pictures and visiting the surrounding buildings as well as the Palazzo Vecchio. Though there were some locals out as well but since it was summer the whole place was heaving with all kinds of people anyway. Trying to figure it out for themselves wouldn't even be worth starting.

"I can't relax! This is 100% creepy!"

"Look I just have a feeling about this, me searching for Claudia Auditore and the way I couldn't search anything...it's just a little sus. If it is a psycho then yeah we can run but if not please just trust me." Nadia pleaded with him.

"She's right you know, I'm really not a stalker but this is important." Came an almost familiar voice but it was missing just one thing. The sneering.

_No! Aww really? Of all people?!_

"Andrew? What are you doing here?" Declan asked really confused.

Andrew stepped towards them in surprisingly casual clothes. His usual grey suit and black dress shoes were replaced with a collared t-shirt, blue jeans and converse sneakers. This was all so weird.

"I told Nadia I would meet her here so I did. Well I didn't tell her /I/ was going to be. I also arranged for you to be here as well so this is all done by me." Andrew said and Nadia could have fainted in shock. He actually smiled at her. Not a fake smile, not a sneering smile, not an ironic smile, a genuine smile.

_Holy crap I didn't think it was possible!_

Declan was for once speechless at that and Nadia assumed that it was the friendly way he spoke and his smile.

"But we can't stand here all day. I called you here for you to be safe, we don't have much time before we're found out so we have to get you to safety." Andrew said and began to walk away from them though beckoned to them.

Declan looked at Nadia and she shrugged. They had no other choice, she thought. A couple of seconds later there were speed walking to catch up with him as they walked right around the back of the Palazzo Vecchio.

"I picked this location on purpose." Andrew said as he stopped in a quiet little alley under some renovation scaffolding and Nadia almost sighed in relief when he used his slight smugness in his voice. He was about to reveal something intelligent he was proud of, she guessed. She also knew he was probably smug because of their surprise that he could speak fluent Italian.

"Why's that?" Nadia asked since Declan had gone oddly silent.

"The Palazzo holds an entrance to the catacombs beneath the city - well the officially used one. They take tour groups on a small tour down there but the catacombs stretch much farther than that. They cover almost all of the city and many entrances are dotted all over the place. This is one of them."

"So we're going down to the catacombs?" Nadia questioned with one eyebrow raised but before he could make a snarky reply she kept speaking. "But why? What do you need to show us down there?"

Andrew looked slightly disappointed that he couldn't make a sarcastic remark but didn't say anything. "You'll see soon." He said as he pulled the grate off of the top of the, what looked to be, drain.

"Oh no I'm not going down there! Seriously?" Nadia said and took a step away as she wrinkled her nose. It stunk to high heaven and she did not want to go anywhere near it.

"Oh come on, so you're okay with being possessed by a ghost but not this?" Andrew asked her and she was about to ask how he knew but that there was no way in hell she would go.

But then Declan pushed past her and went down first without saying a word.

Nadia was so stunned that the words died in her mouth. she climbed down after him now and went over to him as she pinched her nose and winced at the smell. "Declan what's going on?"

"That is not my name." he said in a deadly serious voice.

"Huh?" Nadia said before remembering that voice. "Dec I think you need your medicine." Nadia said and went to search his pockets for it but her stepped back.

"No! I do not need anything, I am not Declan or whoever they tried to force me to be!"

Nadia was both confused and a little upset and was about to try and calm him enough to get the medicine but Andrew barred her with his arm silently.

"You remember don't you?" Andrew said to Declan and that made literally no sense.

_Remember what?_

Declan nodded then gave Nadia the saddest look ever and she covered her mouth because of all of the emotion it held. She didn't know why he held it or why he was looking at her in what looked like a desperate way.

Then he was hugging her tight and Nadia could have sworn that he was slightly trembling. Nadia hugged him until he took a breath and pulled away. She didn't understand but she wanted to comfort her friend as much as possible. He was in some sort of mental hellhole, she guessed, and so she need to be careful. She resolved to listen when he refused help or things like that.

Now they were both looking at her almost expectantly and she blinked. "What?"

"Do you remember anything? Anything at all?" Declan, or whoever he thought he was,said in his new voice. The English was really thickly accented and clunky now which was very hard to grasp. He had been fine with it minutes before.

"Well yeah otherwise I'd have no memories." Nadia said though when Andrew gently glared at her she knew that wasn't what they meant.

"I mean remember anything different, things before your life here." Declan said and he sounded almost pleading.

Nadia was so confused now that it hurt her head to think about. What else was there to remember but her life? Of course there wasn't.

"I don't know what you mean so no I guess." Nadia said though phrased it like a question. She looked to both of them for answers but now their faces were both masks.

"Come on, people are expecting us." Andrew said and lead them through the tunnels quickly.

Nadia followed in the middle but swore when she stepped in something squelty. A dead rat's rotting corpse. She groaned and tried to wipe it off for a second. "Ugh, why are there people down here? Are they homeless or something?"

"Kind of, well not poor as you think, but homeless in a sense." Andrew explained as they turned down another tunnel with his flashlight showing the way.

Nadia nodded and tried not to shiver at the sight of all those skeletons down here, lying down as if they were just sleeping and waiting for the right time to grab her.

_Nadia calm the fuck down. This is not helping anything._

As much as the internal pep talk didn't help, Declan's eyes pouring into her back certainly distracted her. She really wanted to know what was happening but when she'd tried to ask Andrew as they walked he'd just told her to be quiet. Apparently she'd know what was going on soon.

Eventually they came to a plain stone wall with a strange little symbol and a skull embedded in it. It was a dead end though Andrew walked up to the wall as if he could walk right through it.

"Uh Andrew it's a dead end, you sure you lead us the right way?" Nadia said with a confused look.

"No... There is something behind that wall." Declan (Nadia was going to still call him that because that was who he was) piped up and Nadia was even more confused.

"How do you know that?"

"I can sense it." He said though looked a little embarrassed at Nadia's look.

"Right, okay." Nadia said just as Andrew pulled at the skull right in the eye holes. Something clicked and whirred and soon the wall disappeared into the ground. She gave Declan a subconsciously surprised look. He just shrugged.

"Quickly." Andrew spurred and they stepped through just before the wall raised again behind them. Nadia looked behind them and saw that the wall was the same on the other side. They weren't completely trapped thank god.

But now everything was different completely.

Wires were tacked to the old stone walls and trained past all the skeletons and onto the ceiling where the disappeared around corners. As they walked further into this new section the wires disappeared into a hole in the ceiling in an empty dead end. Lights were stationed periodically and lit up as they walked towards them. Even with all the wires on the walls, Nadia had to be careful not to trip over the ones on the floor.

When at a little crossroad Andrew turned left and then right before they came to a room with few people with weapons drawn to them.

Nadia gasped and took a step back as Declan took a step forwards and slightly in front of her protectively. Nadia was actually grateful for that.

But then the people looked at Andrew and relaxed immediately.

"You took your time." One of the men said gruffly but not Italian sounding as he sat back in his fold up chair with his little fold up desk and computer. This whole place looked very basic and temporary. Everything was fold up and half of the things were still on boxes too. Almost like they were ready to run at any moment.

The man looked to be middle aged with black salt and pepper hair and matching colour stubble. He wore square black glasses and was dressed in a grey t-shirt and dark boot cut jeans. The clothes, though relatively smart, were also pretty messy with dust and creases covering them in some places.

"I had my reasons to." Andrew said and Nadia could practically hear his teeth grinding as he spoke. This guy and Andrew didn't look like they got on too well.

"Well it's good you did, we all need to take care. Especially here." The woman said as she got up and smiled at Andrew. "Were you followed?"

"Only by those two." Andrew said and the woman looked them both over and nodded.

"Come in." She said to them warmly and, to Nadia's surprise, hugged them both in turn. "I really didn't think I was going to do that! Anyway, my name's Nicole and that's Dean. We also have James but he's out getting supplies for us." The woman explained as Dean and Andrew had a glare off.

Nicole had short, bob cut, and light brown hair which had been put in a little plaited up do. She wore a denim jacket, floral blouse and jeans with scuffed converse sneakers. Again these were dust marked and pretty worn in which added to the whole homeless thing. She also was not Italian.

"What are you doing down here?" Nadia asked since she guessed that Nicole would be the most likely to tell them. Apparently they weren't poor but apparently had enough to furnish this place. Surely they could find somewhere else to live?

"To avoid prying eyes." Nicole replied simply but in a way that told Nadia not to ask further. And frankly she didn't want to. "But we have you here because we want to find a way to send you home."

"Thanks? But I could have just gotten the train myself rather than by some shady business, no offence." Nadia said and would actually have really liked to do that.

But then her thoughts were interrupted by Nicole giving her this strange look then looking at Declan then back at her. "We'll sort something out and don't worry we won't get you in trouble at all." She said but it seemed fake. "But for now why don't you go wait in our make shift bedroom, we'll sort you out soon."

With a sweet smile her and Declan were lead away from the room just as the men started growling at each other.

The cloth make-shift door was closed and voices were lowered the minute they were inside. Five sleeping bags littered the room though one was folded nearly and looked like it wasn't being used anymore.

"Great, I'm probably gonna end up in jail." Nadia predicted glumly as she plopped down on the floor on one of the sleeping bags. "I could have just taken the train to Roma if anything." She grumbled.

"Hey, you okay?" She asked Declan after he started giving her that sad look again.

"No I am not. You must remember something!" He insisted and gripped her shoulders with quite some force.

Nadia shook her head as her head practically throbbed. "Look I know that with Millie and everythin' coping is hard but you're scaring me. You just have to calm down and everything'll be okay." She said to him gently as she rubbed her temples to try and get rid of the headache.

"Please, just try and remember. Please!" He begged her. This wasn't right and certainly not him.

"Look just calm down, you'll feel better if you do. There is nothing else to remember is there? You know there isn't, your brain just isn't thinking straight. You have to take your medicine."

"The medicine makes me forget who I amso they can control me again." Declan said but now he visibly sagged as he moved his hands and moved away from her. "I am a threat. I remember when you don't."

Nadia just let him wear himself out and hoped that he would be okay after a nice rest. It upset her to see him so different and distressed.

Then Nicole popped her head in and smiled at them though looked primarily at Declan. "Can we speak to you?" She asked him.

Immediately his eyes went to her.

"She'll be safe here, no one can get in it out without us knowing." Nicole reassured him and after another look at her, he got up and headed out with her.

**...**

A little while later Nadia was called out for a 'talk' to them.

When entering the room, Nadia noticed another black haired man was there and remembered Nicole had said of another - James. He was much younger than Dean and had a little longer hair that curled scruffily, he was just about as tall as Declan as well.

"Sit down Nadia." Dean said and gestured to the chair at his desk with the computer. She slowly complied and sat down though looked at them all with slight suspicion at the way they pretty much surrounded her.

"Now we've noticed that Abstergo have prevented you from researching certain people after your little paranormal experience." Dean said and Nadia managed to catch herself before she asked how they knew. Andrew!

"Yes..." Nadia replied with furrowed eyebrows since she had thought it was just a wifi issue. "But why would they do that?"

"Because they don't want you to see these things. Things that could be a trigger and set you against them." Andrew replied and Nadia looked at him in confusion. He spoke like he didn't work for them.

"Set me against them? I work for them like you do! Why would I be against them because of some historic woman I was possessed by?"

Nicole leaned over her shoulder and typed in 'Claudia Auditore' into a database - according to the programme's name. An entry immediately popped up and Nadia started reading but her headache flared again but this time a hundred times worse. She could feel and hear the blood rush through her head as she clenched her head and let out a groan.

Many memories flashed before her eyes all at once. People, places, feelings, sensations, they all popped up and merged and seperated away with barely any time to register them. It felt like her head was going to explode in any second as it overloaded. Hot tears flushed down her face and washed out voices and touches came as she cried out but she couldn't distinguish whether they were real or all part of this memory rewind.

After agonising minutes of intense senses overload things began to slow and images could be seen better. Memories of her life appeared and she replayed them before something happened to them and suddenly the same things were happening with other people in a completely different place. By the time a new memory came that one had completely changed in her head but she couldn't seem to grasp the original image anymore. It was fascinating but still made her head throb and blackness tinge at the edges of her vision.

The more they changed the more overwhelming and painful it became again and soon she blacked out completely as her brain rearranged connections.


	8. The Escape

 

During the time that she was unconscious, many things things happened. So many memories shot through her head and reformed those vital connections lost in her brain. Most were too quick to really note bar some little snapshots and alterations.

The streets of modern, tourist-filled Roma morphing into the renaissance, colour filled streets of Firenze as the sun set beautifully in both.

Walking up the narrow carpeted stairs of her childhood home replaced with grand and polished wooden stairs from the Villa Auditore.

Nadia saw that all happen within the space of a few seconds in her purgatory of unconsciousness. So many things changing and connections being changed and created

However there was one memory that stood out for her. One entirely repressed memory resurfacing from its cage.

**...**

 

_“Thank you papa.” She had said with a bright smile and a sing song tone as her father handed her the small leather pouch that contained the perfect number of ducats. She had kissed his cheek before being dismissed to find her chaperone in the form of Ezio_

_Today was the day that she had been able to persuade her father to let her buy the dress from their preferred tailor. She had spent weeks walking past the shop with her friends and eyeing it’s radiant beauty from the street._

_It was primarily made of deep burgundy velvet separated with brief glimpses of gold and a lighter crimson red. The skirt and bodice was intricately embroidered with a detailed flower and vine pattern and the skirt was hemmed with a delicate white lace. This lace was also used to create the sleeves which joined onto the bold emphasis on the slightly enhanced shoulders and almost-undershirt that protected her modesty and covered her chest just above her bosom, and ended with a loose collar around her lower neck. It was finished off completely by an embroidered velvet strip which acted almost like a belt and which draw attention to her slim waist in a subtle way._

_Her friends often had to drag her past the shop as she would gaze on it for minutes. She had asked her father immediately after seeing it for the first time if she could buy it, but he had protested that she had only recently bought her newest dress and that she did not need another. She had been a little upset, and her older brothers had teased her to no end about it, but she knew that she could eventually have her way if she persisted._

_It had finally been worth the effort._

_Ezio had grumbled and complained to both mother and herself that he found clothes shopping very boring and tedious but mother would have none of it - much to Claudia’s glee._

_They went out immediately and if it weren’t for her arm being looped through his, she would have been running to that tailors she was so excited. When papa had told her that she could get it in a week or so, Claudia had immediately gone to the tailor and told him to hold back that dress for her to collect. Since there was no risk of someone else having it, practically could have skipped she was so happy._

_After agonising minutes of walking through crowds, Claudia finally got to the tailors and tried on the dress so he could adjust it to her frame. She couldn’t stop smiling as Ezio sat and tried not to fall asleep with boredom. She gasped, it was so beautiful that she wanted to wear it all day everyday. In fact, she even wore it out of the shop and carried her other dress over her arm as she dragged a sleepy Ezio out of the shop an hour later._

_“You look beautiful Claudia.” Ezio had said with no interest and only half paying attention to her as a group of girls walked but and blushed as he winked at them._

_“You do not mean that.” She had said with a sad sigh, he always teased her efforts on dressing well and so today was no different. “But you might as well chase those poor women for all of the attention you have yet to put into talking to me.” she grumbled but knew he wouldn’t be paying enough attention to care. She looked up a moment later and he was indeed strolling up to them with his large smirk._

_Now Claudia was very hurt, he hadn’t even listened but had still done what she had expected._

_“If he expects me to wait for him then he has thought wrong.” She said angrily to herself as she crossed her arms and stormed back to the direction of the house._

_“My apologies, sir.” she said as she crashed into a man on her closed-minded rampage. She didn’t look at his face as she was too embarrassed to and was not in the mood for an angry lecture from a stranger. Thankfully the man said nothing and let her go on her way as he walked in the opposite direction._

_But only a few moments later she began to feel really sick and queasy and then the memory faded with the strong feeling of falling._

**....**

“Morning.” Nadia mumbled sleepily as she rubbed her eyes. She’d literally just woken up and already she just wanted to go back to sleep and fade back into those warm dreams. She could just barely remember the feeling of rubbing that textured fabric of her dress between her fingers even as most of those subtle moments slipped away from her grasp back into the recesses of her head.

She still remembered passing out and a dull ache was now stubbornly pounding her head but it was manageable at least. Looking around as she stood up and rubbed her sore back, she saw Declan staring at her hopefully. “Is starin’ at me seriously becoming your favourite hobby or somethin’?” she said at him as she ran a hand through her hair. Just happening to glance at the right moment, she saw his hopeful look deflate but still had no idea what she had done. Instead of asking though she decided to confront those people, thank them but get the hell out of this creepy place.

“Morning guys.” She called as she entered the main room where, unsurprisingly, all six of the strangers were gathered. They all turned to her immediately and smiled at her all at once.

That is seriously creepy...

“Good morning Nadia!” Nicole said and handed her a cup of coffee. Nadia smiled back fakely but refused the cup of coffee. Taking a cup of coffee from some very suspicious individuals was a big no-no in any place or time.

“How is your head?” Asked the other man Nadia wasn’t very familiar with, she had forgotten his name anyway.

“It’s fine.” She said bluntly, why did it even matter to them? Why was she so important?

“Do you remember anything?” Dean said, cutting any semi-friendly small talk off there. She could feel Declan’s eyes burning into her particularly but she knew everyone else was looking at her as well.

“Well yeah, I remember everything from the day before now and a reasonable time before that.” Nadia said even though she was pretty sure they meant something else.

“Anything else?” Nicole pushed and Nadia really wanted to snap at her but took a breath and didn’t.

“Well no, I can’t remember things very well from years ago!”

“Do you remember your childhood?”

“Aren’t your questions getting a little personal?” she eventually almost snapped. This was going way too far since she didn’t know them (besides Andrew who she obviously didn’t know well enough) and couldn’t trust them and didn’t even know if they were even law-abiding people!

“Just answer the question.” Dean said with an almost scary calmness but Nadia wasn’t having any of it.

“No! I have no reason to and especially since I have no idea who the fuck you are or if  in fact you aren’t criminals since you hide in a pretty dodgy place!” She said and threw her hands up in the air with exasperation.

“Let us explain Na -” Andrew started but Nadia didn’t even give him time to finish.

“I honestly don’t care about what you have to say, I don’t want to be involved in this and I am leaving right now.” she said and turned to go.

Apart from Declan, everyone in the room moved to stop her but she burst into running (if Declan wanted to stay with them then it was his choice) as running footsteps came after her. She managed to get to the door and tried to get it open but it was completely smooth and had no handle. She was beginning to panic for a few seconds when the door came down and someone pulled her through before slamming the button and sending the door up in the peoples’ faces. Nadia could have laughed at Andrew’s disappointed expression before the door closed.

She looked forward and saw Declan pulling her into a fast run down the suspiciously squishy corridors and past hundreds of very, very, creepy skeletons of the long-since-deceased. Surprisingly it seemed like Declan actually knew where they were going.

“You know the way out?” She panted as she was dragged along, her lungs and legs burning as a sharp pain started up in her side. A stitch, just what she needed as she heard the stone door’s sound reverberate behind them somewhere with the sound of their pounding feet. When he didn’t say anything she decided that running was probably a better idea than talking since there were people running after them now

In less than a few minutes he was pushing her up a ladder up to the surface. Nadia climbed as fast as she could and gave the cover over the ladder a harsh shove before moving it to the side and climbing out, helping Declan out.

“Seriously how did you know?!” Nadia exclaimed, wiping her really disgusting hands on her trousers as he moved the cover quietly back over the ladder quickly before pulling her away by the wrist.

“ _I just did_.

“You still insisting on speaking Italian huh?” Nadia mumbled which caused Declan to give her a confused look. For some reason, his condition seemed like it affected his knowledge of English. “ _Care to share anymore details_?” she said as they hurried in the direction of the hotel.

“ _No_.” He said with an unusual, frustrated snap as they walked.

“ _Are you okay?_ ” She asked, actually concerned now.

“ _We can speak later when you are out of danger_.” He replied before not replying to anything else she said or asked

Once back at the hotel, they hurried up the stairs to Nadia’s room so she could pack her stuff up and then he could pack his; however, there was someone waiting there for them.


End file.
